The Guardian Australiareported today that an oil rig destined for the Bight could be fitted with faulty subsea bolts. US regulators say failure of these bolts could result in another catastrophic oil spill like the 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, and have demanded an industry-wide investigation.
“It’s unclear how or whether National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) will take the bolt issue into account when considering BP’s latest environment plan, yet their verdict is due within days. This process has been conducted behind a veil of secrecy,” said Greenpeace Oceans campaigner, Nathaniel Pelle.
“A spill off the southern Australian coast on the scale of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster would be horrific.
“Not only would it wipe out marine life found nowhere else on earth, like the endangered Australian Sea Lion, it would destroy local tourism and fishing industries that rely on a healthy ocean.
“Yet Australians are being kept in the dark about BP’s environmental and safety plans. NOPSEMA has already rejected them twice, and now we’re hearing that the rig may be fitted with dodgy bolts.
“BP’s perilous activities must be abandoned before our southern coastline is put in grave danger.”